Route 501 - The Queen Streetcar - Transit Toronto

ALRV 4213 rockets into Parkside station on the Queensway right-of-way. Located on a bridge over Parkside road, stairs take pedestrians down to street level. Shades of a streetcar subway!

Text by James Bow.

The Route

Toronto’s centerpiece streetcar route, 501 QUEEN, starts from Long Branch loop on Lake Shore Boulevard near the border with Mississauga. Running east, it serves the main commercial street for the old towns and villages of Long Branch, New Toronto and Mimico before ducking into private right-of-way beneath the Gardiner Expressway and emerging into the Humber Loop interchange.

Exiting the interchange, the line runs east along private right-of-way along the middle of the Queensway, before changing to on-street near Roncesvalles Avenue. After passing Roncesvalles Carhouse, the car follows Queen Street through the old village of Parkdale, the Fashion District, Downtown Toronto, Riverdale, Leslieville, East Toronto and finally into the Beach district, where it loops at Nursewood Road, on the border between the old City of Toronto and the old City of Scarborough. This loop is called Neville loop, even though it is one block east of Neville Park Boulevard.

At 15.4 miles of double track, 501 QUEEN is the longest streetcar route on the TTC, and one of the longest streetcar routes in North America.

The 501 QUEEN streetcar runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, between Long Branch and Neville Park. During the night, the route number changes, from 501 QUEEN to 301 QUEEN NIGHT, although streetcars continue to operate along the same route. During the day, every second car operates between Neville and Humber only. There are a number of other unscheduled short turns during the course of an average day. The 501 QUEEN streetcar is the only route on the TTC where ALRVs operate in base service (ALRVs also operate during certain periods on 511 BATHURST and 504 KING).

Queen Street’s Interurban History

As with streetcar service on Kingston Road, the QUEEN streetcar has its origins in suburban operations. Horse-drawn trams started running on June 9, 1875 along the Kingston Road Tramway (Queen Street east of the Don River was called Kingston Road at this time) from the Don River to gravel pits west of what is today the Kingston Road-Main Street intersection. The passengers were revenue gravy for this railroad, as the operation was set up originally to haul supplies for the Toronto Gravel Road and Concrete Company. The Kingston Road Tramway turned back at the Benlamond Hotel. In 1878, this line was extended east towards Victoria Park.

This horse-drawn service was abandoned following Toronto’s annexation of Riverdale (1884) and the area south of Queen Street from the Don River east to Maclean Avenue (1887). At that time, the Toronto Street Railway pushed its services east of the Don River to the Woodbine (now Greenwood) Racetrack and Lee Avenue. When the Toronto Railway Company assumed the franchise for streetcar service in the City of Toronto in 1891, the service along Queen was remade into the KING route, operating between Lee Avenue and Dufferin Street via Queen and King. Electric service arrived in 1893, along with an extension east to Balsam Avenue in 1894.

At this time, the Beach district was considered ‘cottage country’ for Toronto. Winter service was sparse because it was felt that there were too few year-round residents to justify full service beyond Lee Avenue. Starting in late 1895, though, every second streetcar operated all the way to Balsam Avenue.

Kingston Road and Queen In Conflict

In 1896, the TRC sought to extend streetcar service along Queen to the southern part of the Munro estate, which had been remade into the new Munro Park, which the TRC leased. They also wanted to cross the Neville Park ravine to reach Victoria Park. Already, the TRC owned the Kingston Road suburban service, which operated down Blantyre Avenue to neighbouring Victoria Park. This shouldn’t have caused difficulties, but it did, as the Kingston Road suburban service also held the franchise for Queen Street east of Maclean Avenue. The Village of East Toronto, which had a number of grievances with the Toronto Railway Company (mostly due to fares), decided to make trouble. On July 20, 1897, when the TRC started moving supplies onto Queen Street east of Maclean Avenue, the village organized a ‘posse’ which tossed the rails and ties into a nearby ravine. Cooler heads prevailed, however, and one year later improved service was operating during the summer to a loop in Munro Park.

The TRC wasn’t satisfied with Munro Park, however, and in 1906, General Manager R. Fleming entered into an arrangement with Dominion Parks Company to obtain property between Maclean and Leuty Avenues. Here was set up the Scarboro Beach Park, an ‘electric’ park served exclusively by streetcar. This became a very popular attraction, and it was one of the few properties the TRC retained after the Toronto Transportation Commission took over in 1921. The park lasted until 1925, and has since been filled in with housing. Likewise, Munro Park and Victoria Park were shut down in 1906-07, and subdivided for housing.

As Toronto entered the 1910s, service on Queen Street was split in two. Downtown cars operated to Woodbine, and the single track along Queen Street to Munro Park was handled by stub service. The City eventually stepped in and built a set of double tracks to a wye at Neville Park, allowing through service and night service to begin on December 24, 1914, with every second car turning back at Scarboro Beach.

At the boundary between the old City of Toronto and the old City of Scarborough, ALRV 4237 rests at Neville Loop

The wye at Neville Park, incidentally, is the reason there remained an isolated section of streetcar track running down Neville Park Boulevard until the beginning of the 21st century. After the construction of the loop, the tailtrack from the wye remained, to regulate service. The connection with the Queen trackage was taken away in May 1989, but the track remained visible for years afterward.

The Toronto Transportation Commission Takes Over

On September 1, 1921, the Toronto Transportation Commission acquired responsibility for all TRC operations and set to work improving the streetcar system. By 1923, all service along Queen was run into to the new loop at Neville Park. Service then was renamed BEACH, and operated along a route similar to today’s 501 QUEEN from Humber (via Lake Shore Boulevard) to Neville. In 1928, concurrent with improvements to the MIMICO route, BEACH cars and the Kingston Road-bound QUEEN cars were cut back to a new loop at McCaul Street, overlapping a new LAKE SHORE route which operated along Queen west from Mutual Street.

This arrangement continued into the 1930s when the LAKE SHORE service began to fade from existence. It started on October 28, 1935 when the LAKE SHORE route was split into two near Roncesvalles Avenue, and the LONG BRANCH route, serving the old line from Roncesvalles to Long Branch, came into being. The remainder of the LAKE SHORE service continued to operate between Parkside Loop, just west of the Sunnyside Amusement Park, to Mutual Loop. Then, on November 1, 1936, Sunday and holiday service on the Lake Shore route was discontinued, replaced by a westward extension of the BEACH line to Parkside loop.

Finally, on August 2, 1937, the remainder of the truncated LAKE SHORE service merged into the BEACH route, producing a line running from Neville Park to Parkside Loop. This route was renamed QUEEN. The old QUEEN car became known as the KINGSTON ROAD streetcar. The BEACH name lingered until 1948 on a rush-hour tripper service operating west from Neville loop via Queen and King to loop through downtown Toronto via Church, Wellington and York; after 1948, this service was handed to the KINGSTON ROAD tripper.

In 1957, when road improvements around Sunnyside (and possibly in preparation for the building of the Gardiner Expressway) connected the Queensway with Queen Street, the QUEEN streetcar was moved off Lake Shore Boulevard and onto a high-quality stretch of private right-of-way running to a rebuilt Humber interchange. QUEEN and LONG BRANCH streetcars met at Humber until March 26, 1995, when the 507 LONG BRANCH streetcar was replaced by an extension of the 501 QUEEN route, bringing the 501 QUEEN streetcar to its current alignment.

On February 26, 1966, concurrent with the opening of the BLOOR-DANFORTH SUBWAY and the abandonment of the COXWELL streetcar, the TTC experimented with routing every second QUEEN car along Kingston Road to Bingham loop, in order to maintain streetcar service on Kingston Road during evenings and weekends. Previously, service at these times was handled by the KINGSTON ROAD-COXWELL streetcar operating from Bingham via Kingston Road, Queen and Coxwell to Danforth loop.

Night service on Kingston Road was basically eliminated at this time, but one streetcar would depart from Bingham Loop for Long Branch every Sunday morning at 1:02 AM. As services went, this was probably the most infrequent on the system with one car appearing every 168 hours, but it was the longest single streetcar trip in Toronto, at 15.8 miles. The split-service experiment was not successful, however, failing to meet the travel patterns of Kingston Road residents and contributing to the increasingly unstable operations of the QUEEN car. The QUEEN car returned to its normal route on May 22, 1966.

Starting in 1967, the QUEEN streetcar was served by two-car MU PCC trains operated as they had along the BLOOR streetcar route. This service required reconstruction of Neville and Humber loops. Neville loop was rebuilt with wider turns to allow the two-car trains to operate. Humber loop received a passing track so that two-car trains could be uncoupled as service required. MU trains plied the QUEEN route until February 6, 1977 when increasing congestion and reduced ridership forced the TTC to operate single PCCs instead.

Problems With Reliability and a Grassroots Response

The 501 QUEEN streetcar has long had problems maintaining reliable service. As early as the late 1970s, residents of the Beaches complained that the QUEEN car was being short turned excessively. Quoted one resident in an article for the Toronto Star, “they can get a man to the moon, so why can’t they get a streetcar to Lee Avenue?” Various measures were taken, including slowing down the streetcars and giving them additional time to complete their route. On July 1, 1990, a proof-of-payment fare policy was installed which allowed passengers who had passes or who had already paid their fares (and collected a transfer) to board streetcars at the rear doors, speeding up passenger loadings and streetcar service. Financial losses due to fare evaders caused the TTC to recommend dropping proof-of-payment service, but appeals from grassroots groups such as the Rocket Riders resulted in proof-of-payment being retained, with increased enforcement.

In spite of these changes, problems persisted. As longer ALRV streetcars replaced CLRVs at longer headways and as service was reduced in the mid-1990s due to a system-wide drop in ridership, service gaps on 501 QUEEN became more noticeable and aggravating. Residents of the Beaches complained about waiting as long as a half hour or forty minutes for a streetcar to show up at their stop. When 501 QUEEN absorbed the 507 LONG BRANCH streetcar on March 26, 1995, similar complaints arose around the communities of Long Branch, New Toronto and Mimico.

A grassroots campaign soon launched, bringing together the Rocket Riders, affected residents and officials from the City of Toronto to a series of meetings in 2007 to discuss ways to improving the reliability of the 501 QUEEN service. As a result of these meetings, the TTC hired more route supervisors, to try and ensure cars left their terminals on time. Service disruptions were to be handled with holdbacks, as they are on the subways, rather than with short turns, in order to try and prevent gaps from appearing in the service. A step-back operation at Russell carhouse ensured that streetcar drivers could be spelled off for a break, while their streetcars continued running. Riders reported that service along the line improved as a result, although gaps in service remained a frustratingly a common occurrence. To maintain reliable service within the Beach neighbourhood, additional streetcars or buses were operated on a short shuttle between Russell carhouse and Neville loop.

During the 2007 meetings, proposals were made to split the 501 QUEEN streetcar into shorter routes that overlapped in the downtown core, so that service disruptions weren’t magnified across the entire line. Transit activist Steve Munro suggested that the 507 LONG BRANCH streetcar could be restored, operating between Long Branch Loop and Dundas West station via Lake Shore Boulevard, the Queensway and Roncesvalles outside of rush hours, and down King Street to loop near Church (essentially operating as 508 LAKE SHORE cars) during peak hours.

Testing the Split

TTC planners authorized a trial splitting of the 501 QUEEN streetcar for six weeks in 2009. The western branch operated from Long Branch loop via the regular route to Parliament Street, looping via north on Parliament, east on Dundas and south on Broadview. The eastern branch operated from Neville loop to Shaw Street, looping via south on Shaw, west on King and north on Dufferin. In January 2010, the TTC issued a report saying that splitting the route was unsuccessful in preventing short turns, was unpopular with riders, and required more streetcars. Critics argued that the split used was not what they had recommended, and far from the best use of resources. Some feared that the TTC had not given the proposed route split enough of an opportunity to prove itself, and that the experiment had been designed to fail.

Then, in 2016, the 501 QUEEN route was split again, this time at Humber Loop. Effective Sunday, January 1, 2016, the TTC effectively re-launched the 507 LONG BRANCH route between Long Branch and Humber, requiring passengers to transfer to 501 QUEEN streetcars to continue their journey downtown. This was largely done to an increasing shortage of TTC streetcars, thanks to delivery delays of the new Flexity cars by Bombardier, and the increasing unreliability of the aging ALRV fleet. The TTC found it could not maintain service on the whole 501 QUEEN route using just ALRVs, and instead increased service on the Humber-Long Branch portion using CLRVs. The TTC did claim that this move would “increase reliability” for residents of southern Etobicoke, as well as increase service, which is what they had been asking for all along. To deal with the loss of the direct downtown connection, five tripper cars were assigned to the morning rush hour, operating via Lake Shore, the Queensway and Queen to Church.

This arrangement continued for a few months, until the TTC shut down streetcar service west of Roncesvalles in order to do maintenance work at Humber Loop and along the Queensway. When streetcar service resumed to Long Branch on Sunday, June 24, 2018, the split service continued, with 5-7 CLRVs providing service between Long Branch and Humber at all times except late evenings and nights, and CLRVs and ALRVs operating along the hole Long Branch-to-Neville route during late evenings and nights.

The 501 QUEEN car started to receive Flexity Outlook vehicles starting on Saturday, September 1, 2018. Initially taking only a few weekend runs, the vehicles became more common as the Flexity fleet increased. By June 23, 2019, the TTC was preparing for conversion of the route to low-floor operation, starting at first with just the Humber-Neville section of the line. Low floor conversion west of Humber loop was expected to start in earnest in September 2019. In the meantime, overnight operation of the line was increased to every 15 minutes to deal with a shortage of storage space at the car barns.

The Future

According to the TTC, the 501 QUEEN streetcar carried 43,500 riders per day in 2014, up from 41,200 in 2004. This makes 501 QUEEN the third-most travelled streetcar route on the TTC network, after 504 KING and 510 SPADINA. This does not include the ridership figures for the 502 and 503 KINGSTON ROAD streetcars which carry over 6,000 passengers per day on a parallel service. However, this is still far below the crowds the QUEEN streetcar used to be able to carry in its heyday. Transit activists fear that ridership has been depressed due to problems with service reliability have been allowed to fester.

Proposals for a Queen subway or something similar continue to surface from time to time. Most recently, in 2008, the regional transit planning agency Metrolinx placed a line under Queen Street as part of its “most ambitious” regional transportation proposal. The City of Toronto, however, worried that Metrolinx’s proposal to extend the Yonge subway to Richmond Hill could put the line over capacity, passed a resolution asking that the Downtown Relief Line be placed on Metrolinx’s list of priority projects to be built within the next fifteen years. This line might not replace the 501 QUEEN streetcar, but it would enable commuters from the Beach to get downtown more quickly. Metrolinx now considers the Downtown Relief subway line as a priority, though it doesn’t expect the line to open until 2031.

Residents of Long Branch, New Toronto and Mimico continue to campaign for improved service, either through a reinstated 507 LONG BRANCH streetcar (which is what basically took place in 2016), or a service that bypasses Queen Street altogether and heads downtown on private right-of-way paralleling the Gardiner Expressway. In 2007, the City of Toronto proposed just such a route in the form of a Waterfront West LRT, but changing administrations and competing projects have put this on the back burner. Proposals have been made to build a new streetcar loop on the southwest corner of Lake Shore Drive and Park Lawn, which could allow the the TTC to extend its scheduled 501 QUEEN short turn service west from Humber Loop to Park Lawn, along a private right-of-way, doubling the level of service for a number of new condominiums that have gone up in east Mimico. Construction of such a loop was planned for the summer of 2009, but taken off the books due to budget shortfalls.

Whatever the changes that are in store, streetcars will continue to ply the length of Queen Street. Service along this street is, to some, the heart and soul of streetcar operations in Toronto.

501 Queen Image Archive

	TTC air-electric PCC #4038 pauses at Parkside Loop at the western end of the Queen line, May 31, 1953. Richard Glaze photograph.
	Although signed for "Sunnyside", TTC air-electric PCC #4093 heads westbound on Lake Shore Road towards Parkside loop in QUEEN service on May 31, 1953. Richard Glaze photo.
	TTC A10-class ex-Cincinnati air-electric #4586 heads westbound on Queen approaching Roncesvalles in QUEEN service on July 5, 1954. Photo by Richard Glaze.
	TTC A10-class ex-Cincinnati air-electric PCC #4596 heads eastbound on Queen near Victoria Street in this late 1950s shot courtesy the Toronto Archives.
	Signs on South Kingsway, looking west, point to the correct stairs for QUEEN streetcars. This shot was taken on August 31, 1962. The photographer is unknown.
	TTC air Electric PCC #4018 leads another air electric westbound on Queen, towards Bay Street, in this September 1963 shot. Photo by L. Swanson, from the John Knight Collection.
	TTC air-electric PCC 4102 turns from eastbound Adelaide to northbound Victoria in QUEEN streetcar service on November 14, 1964. The car is on diversion due to the Santa Claus parade. Photograph courtesy the Hampton Wayt collection.
	On April 23, 1966, photographer Hampton Wayt caught A-7 PCC 4406 heading eastbound on Kingston Road past Glen Manor towards Bingham loop. For a few weeks after the opening of the BLOOR-DANFORTH subway, and the demise of the COXWELL streetcar, evening and weekend service on Kingston Road was handled as a branch of QUEEN. However, this arrangement was dropped as the service proved too unreliable.
	TTC air-electric PCC #4236 heads westbound on Queensway, passing Howard Road on April 6, 1968. This photo was taken by John F. Bromley.
	TTC MU train of PCC cars 4426 and 4440 heads westbound on the Queensway, passing Grenadier Pond on June 4, 1968. Photo by John F. Bromley.
	TTC multiple-unit train of PCCs 4444 and 4626 head eastbound on Queensway, approaching Parkside on June 20, 1968. Photo by John F. Bromley.
	TTC A7-class streetcars 4476 and 4466 pass each other in service on the QUEEN route circa July 1969. This shot was taken, looking east at Knox Avenue, by Richard Glaze.
	TTC ex-Cleveland A11-class all-electric PCC #4655 leads a multiple-unit train of QUEEN cars past Bay Street, westbound on Queen on August 13, 1969. Much has changed in the past six years. The Simpsons tower is now in place, and construction is taking place on the south side of street, building the Sheraton Centre and a new bank building. The photographer is unknown.
	An ex-Cleveland, ex-Louisvile all-electric PCC heads westbound on Queen Street, passing Kew Gardens in QUEEN streetcar service. This shot was taken by Richard Glaze circa July 1970.
	TTC A11-class ex-Cleveland all-electric PCC leads a MU train westbound on Queen Street East past Kew Gardens in the Beaches. This shot was taken circa August 1970 by Richard Glaze.
	TTC A12-class ex-Cleveland all-electric PCC #4680 heads westbound as a multiple-unit train crossing Wheeler in QUEEN street through the Beaches. This photo was taken circa September 1970 by Richard Glaze.
	TTC A7-class all-electric PCC pauses westbound on Queen in QUEEN service, approaching Logan Avenue. This photo was taken by Richard Glaze circa September 1971.
	TTC A-7 all electric PCC #4426 about to cross Yonge Street along the QUEEN route in the early 1970s. Note the coupler for linking with other streetcars as part of multiple-unit trains. All the buildings in the foreground -- except for the one housing the Woolworth store -- have disappeared, replaced by the Toronto Eaton Centre. Photo: Mitchell Libby.
	Mitchell Libby shot this view of TTC A7 #4449 all-electric PCC in QUEEN service east of York Street across from City Hall in the early 1970s. Note the coupler for linking with other streetcars -- and a cyclist linking with the streetcar for some extra power in his ride.
	TTC A12-class ex-Cleveland all-electric PCC #4681 heads eastbound on Queen, crossing Connaught Avenue in QUEEN service. This photo was taken on April 29, 1972.
	TTC A7-class all-electric PCC #4414 passes trackwork westbound on Queen at York Street in QUEEN service during this afternoon shot taken circa June 1972 by Richard Glaze.
	TTC A7-class all-electric PCC #4420 heads eastbound on Queen, crossing York and trackwork in QUEEN service circa July 1972. This photo was taken by Richard Glaze.
	TTC A7-class PCC #4490 heads eastbound on the Queensway in QUEEN service, passing Colborne Lodge Drive on April 7, 1973. This photograph was taken by Robert McMann.
	TTC A12-class ex-Louisville all-electric PCC #4696 leads another in QUEEN MU operation, with a DOWNTOWNER PCC following, through construction westbound on Queen, past Saulter. This photo was taken circa May 1973 by Richard Glaze.
	TTC A12-class ex-Louisville PCC #4699 brings up the rear of a MU train heading eastbound on Queen Street in QUEEN service, approaching Saulter circa May 1973. Photo by Richard Glaze.
	TTC A12-class ex-Cleveland all-electric PCC #4680 heads eastbound on Queen passing McGee in Queen service. This photo was taken circa August 1973 by Richard Glaze.
	TTC A7-class all-electric PCC #4475 heads westbound on Queen, approaching Soho in QUEEN service. This photo was taken circa August 1973 by Richard Glaze.
	TTC A7-class PCC #4485 heads eastbound Queen, crossing Strange in QUEEN service circa August 1973. Photo by Richard Glaze.
	TTC A7-class all-electric PCC #4494 heads eastbound on Queen Street, approaching Peter in QUEEN service circa August 1973. Photo by Richard Glaze.
	TTC A7-class all-electric PCC #4406 heads eastbound on Queen, approaching Church Street on a fine day in August 1973. Photo by Richard Glaze.
	TTC A7-class all-electric PCC #4463 heads eastbound on Queen Street, passing York Street in QUEEN service. This shot was taken circa May 1974 by Richard Glaze.
	TTC A8-class all-electric PCC #4504 turns from westbound Richmond onto northbound Victoria in a short turn on QUEEN service This July 1975 shot was taken by Richard Glaze.
	TTC A6-class all-electric PCC heads westbound on Queen, approaching Peter Street in QUEEN service. This photo was taken by Richard Glaze circa April 1977.
	TTC A12-class all-electric ex-Cleveland PCC #4651 heads westbound on Queen, crossing University Avenue, followed by A7-class PCC #4424, both in QUEEN service. This shot was taken circa April 1977 by Richard Glaze.
	TTC A13-class ex-Birmingham all-electric PCC #4738 heads westbound on Queen, approaching Soho, while passing eastbound A7-class PCC #4463 in QUEEN service. This photo was taken by Richard Glaze circa April 1977.
	TTC A7-class PCCs 4413 (westbound) and 4422 (eastbound) pass each other crossing University Avenue in QUEEN service. This photo was taken by Richard Glaze circa May 1978.
	TTC A12-class ex-Louisville, ex-Cleveland all-electric PCC #4685 heads westbound on Queen, crossing University Avenue in QUEEN service circa May 1978. Photo by Richard Glaze.
	TTC A7-class all-electric PCC #4473 heads westbound on Queen, crossing University Avenue in QUEEN service. This shot was taken circa June 1978 by Richard Glaze.
	TTC Peter Witt cars #2894 and #2766 sit in the stub track on Neville Park Road, just west of Neville Park loop, in this July 1978 shot. The cars are likely preparing for a parade through the Toronto Beaches neighbourhood. Photo courtesy the Charles Houser collection.
	TTC A12-class ex-Louisville all-electric streetcar #4693, followed by A6-class all-electric #4331 head westbound across Spadina, passing A6-class all-electric PCC #4322 heading eastbound, all in 501 QUEEN service. This photo was taken by Richard Glaze circa July 1978.
	TTC A7-class PCC #4414 heads westbound on Queen, crossing Spadina in QUEEN service. This photo was taken by Richard Glaze circa July 1978.
	Robert McMann caught this image of A13-class ex-Birmingham all-electric PCC #4742 heading westbound on Queen, about to cross Carlaw on June 16, 1980. A brand new CLRV is following behind. Photo courtesy the Rob Hutchinson collection.
	TTC A13-class ex-Birmingham all-electric PCC #4701 heads westbound on the Queensway, about to cross Ellis Avenue on a charter on June 22, 1980. This photograph was taken by Robert McMann and is courtesy the Rob Hutchinson collection.
	TTC A7-class all-electric PCC #4476 pauses for workers repairing the Queen Street tracks at Soho Street on July 29, 1980. This photograph is by Robert McMann and is courtesy the John Knight collection.
	TTC A6-class all-electric PCC #4345 heads eastbound on Queen through track reconstruction across Duncan Street in 501 QUEEN service. Richard Glaze took this photograph on May 23, 1981.
	TTC CLRV #4029 heads westbound in 501 QUEEN service past Sunnyside loop while CLRV #4197 looks on from within the loop. This photograph was taken by William J. Madden on September 3, 1983.
	TTC A8-class all-electric PCC #4539 heads westbound on the Queensway private right-of-way, passing the Parkside Avenue station platform in 501 QUEEN service on September 3, 1983. Photo by William J. Madden.
	TTC A8-class all-electric PCC #4508 approaches Colborne Lodge Drive and The Queensway (near High Park) on its way towards Neville Park loop. This photograph was taken by Robert Newhouser in July 1984 and sent to us by Yury Maller.
	TTC CLRV #4039 picks up passengers at Humber Loops for a long journey east to Neville Park. The "safery shield" skirt is already installed on this vehicle while CLRV 4004 (seen behind) still has a coupler. This shot was snapped by W.N.Carr in August 1984.
	Another shot of Humber Loop, showing CLRV 4199 in August 1984. Photo by W.N.Carr.
	Caught by W.N. Carr in April 1989, TTC ALRV #4212 leaves Humber Loops, heading east to Neville Park.
	TTC ALRV #4221 turns onto The Queensway near Humber Loops. This photograph was taken by W.N.Carr in April 1989.
	TTC ALRV #4201 crosses Kingston Road eastbound on 501 QUEEN service on October 30, 1999, passing the newly installed left-turn streetcar lane for 502 and 503 KINGSTON ROAD streetcars. This photo was taken by James Bow.
	A driver pauses to look beneath TTC ALRV #4204 at Long Branch loop. This photograph was taken in the year 2000 by Rob Hutchinson.
	TTC ALRV #4215 emerges from the Queensway private right-of-way into Humber Loop. Photo taken in the year 2000 by Rob Hutchinson.
	TTC ALRV #4236 turns at Sunnyside Loop with Roncesvalles carhouse in the background. Cars used to turn at Sunnyside more frequently, but the name has been combined with "Roncesvalles" on the roll signs. This photo was taken in the year 2000 by Rob Hutchinson.
	TTC ALRV #4247 moves westbound along Queen towards Bathurst. This photograph was taken in the year 2000 by Rob Hutchinson.
	Westbound TTC ALRV #4212 pauses to pick up passengers at University Avenue. Osgoode Hall is behind it, and Old City Hall can be seen down the street. This photo was taken in the year 2000 by Rob Hutchinson.
	Past Bay Street, the QUEEN streetcar gets dwarfed by buildings as it passes between the old Simpsons Department Store and the Eaton Centre. Here TTC CLRV #4041 approaches Yonge Street. CLRVs can be seen on Queen as extras during weekdays, and they replace the ALRVs on Sundays. This photograph was taken by Rob Hutchinson in the year 2000.
	Another ALRV passes TTC ALRV #4240 as it picks up passengers at Carroll near Broadview Avenue. This photo was taken by Rob Hutchinson in the year 2000.
	TTC ALRV #4207 is seen here westbound in 501 QUEEN service at Pape. This photo was taken in the year 2000 by Rob Hutchinson.
	TTC ALRV #4249 pulls out of service at Connaught Avenue. Russell Carhouse is to the right of this picture. Railfans enjoy good views of both Russell and Roncesvalles carhouses from the comfort of their Queen car seat. This photo was taken by Rob Hutchinson in the year 2000.
	After Woodbine Avenue, the QUEEN car enters the cozy turn-of-the-century Beaches neighbourhood. This photo was taken in the year 2000 by Rob Hutchinson.
	Caught by W.N.Carr in 2012, CLRV 4097 is ready to run all the way east from Long Branch Loop to Neville Park Loop.
	Streetcar operators exchange the latest news on the 501 Queen during a short break. This photograph was taken in 2012 by W.N.Carr.
	TTC ALRV #4212 awaits green light at Queen Street East and Church on December 24, 2013. This photo was taken by Roman Fomin.
	An official TTC map of the 501 QUEEN operations, effective October 2015.
	TTC Orion V "ex-CNG" bus #9430 seen in service on the 501 QUEEN shuttle west to Shaw Street. Photo taken by Sammi De Guzman on December 3, 2015, a day before the last high floor buses retired.
	TTC ALRV #4208 heads westbound on Queen in 501 QUEEN service, approaching Gwynne, on the afternoon of September 28, 2017. Photo by James Bow.
	TTC ALRV #4238 heads eastbound on Queen Street, passing beneath the newly renovated pedestrian bridge linking the Eaton's Centre to the old Simpson store. This photo was taken by James Bow on September 28, 2017.
	TTC CLRV #4069 heads eastbound on Lake Shore Boulevard, approaching 35th Street on a 501 QUEEN run from Long Branch to Humber on July 19, 2018. This photo was taken by Edward Brain.
	TTC ALRV #4249 heads westbound on Lake Shore Boulevard West, approaching 15th Street in 501 QUEEN to Long Branch service on July 20, 2018. Photo by Edward Brain.
	Sunday, September 2, 2018, was the first day for regularly scheduled Flexity service on 501 QUEEN, albeit just on weekends only. Here we see Flexity LRV #4455 heading westbound on Queen approaching Church Street. Photo by James Bow.
	TTC Flexity LRV #4467 heads eastbound on Queen Street approaching Church on Sunday, September 2, 2018, the first day of scheduled Flexity service on 501 QUEEN. This photo was taken by James Bow.
	TTC Flexity LRV #4502 heads westbound on Richmond, passing Bay Street, on a diversion of the 501 QUEEN streetcar. This photograph was taken by Stephen Webber on September 6, 2019.
	TTC Flexity #4461 turns from Lake Shore Boulevard onto Kipling in 501 QUEEN. Edward Brain took this photograph on February 16, 2020.
	TTC Flexity #4486 pulls out of Kipling Loop while Flexity #4461 pulls in. Edward Brain took this photograph on February 16, 2020.
	TTC Flexity #4517 pulls out of Kipling Loop as Flexity #4456 pulls in. Edward Brain took this photograph on February 16, 2020.
	On February 16, 2020, with Long Branch loop temporarily offline, the TTC short turned 501 QUEEN service to Kipling Loop. Edward Brain was there to capture the action as 4456 heads into Kipling Loop.
	Edward Brain captured Flexity #4517 heading through Kipling Loop on February 16, 2020.
	TTC Flexity LRV #4486 pulls into the King/Church intersection, westbound, while LRV #4497 pulls up in service on the east branch of the 501 QUEEN route. This was one of the first days of the eastern branch's looping downtown via Church, Wellington, York and King. This shot was taken by James Bow on November 13, 2023.

References

Bromley, John F., and Jack May Fifty Years of Progressive Transit, Electric Railroaders’ Association, New York (New York), 1978.
Corley, Raymond F., ‘Beach Car Lines Reach Back 120 Years’, Rail and Transit, September 1995, p4-5, The Upper Canada Railway Society, Toronto (Ontario).
Stamp, Robert M., Riding the Radials: Toronto’s Suburban Electric Streetcar Lines, The Boston Mills Press, Erin (Ontario), 1989.

Thanks to Ray Corley for his corrections to this web page.

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Route 501 - The Queen Streetcar